rent or buy?? (Orlando, Golf: apartment, foreclosures, lease)

[NC2FL]

ill be a graduating from college in may and moving to orlando for a job. Ive been looking at renting an apartment for about 4 months in the area (very overwhelming), recently bein thinking of buying a house. Seems like its the right time to buy one. But dont know anything about it. I alway see the government is offering 8k to first time home buyers. Ill be new to the area in may, and dont know what to do. Could somebody lead me in the right direction? should I rent an apartment for my first year, or just look for a house? I believe the 8k will end in dec 09, and dont want to miss out on that.

[Silent1900]

My advice would be to start out renting, but sign a 6-month lease if possible. You definitely need time to get your feet underneath you at your new job, and a chance to explore the city, read the local news for a while, and decide which areas would fit your lifestyle. Orlando is not as obvious as other cities with regards to "safe" areas and "sketchy" areas...you do not want to buy a place that looks great only to find out your neighbors are all bad news.

I also think that sometime this year is the right time to buy, at least at the low end of the market ( < 200k ). Interest rates should remain low for the next several months at least, and as long as you close before the end of the year you'll get the $8,000. There is also a chance that prices could fall lower during that time. There is not as great a chance that they will skyrocket during the same time.

Take a little bit of time, pick out a couple of neighborhoods that you might be interested in, and then look them up on this board...lots of good discussion has already been done.

Good luck!!

[docbest74]

I agree with the above. Rent for a year. The market isn't going to turn that fast and you will still get a great deal in a year from now. Also...and I can say this from expirence, you need to feel out the city. I lived in Orlando for quite some time and can tell you that every part of the city has a different feel when it comes to living. I lived in the Windemere area around Metro West and Universal Studios. I found it to be busy 24/7 and really didn't care for the area. I then relocated to the Avalon Park area on Stoneybrook Golf Course and found it much more relaxed and more my speed. So you really gotta find what you are looking for and if you buy before living you may find that you aren't not happy.

[GregTraub]

Originally Posted by Silent1900

My advice would be to start out renting, but sign a 6-month lease if possible. You definitely need time to get your feet underneath you at your new job, and a chance to explore the city, read the local news for a while, and decide which areas would fit your lifestyle. Orlando is not as obvious as other cities with regards to "safe" areas and "sketchy" areas...you do not want to buy a place that looks great only to find out your neighbors are all bad news.

I also think that sometime this year is the right time to buy, at least at the low end of the market ( < 200k ). Interest rates should remain low for the next several months at least, and as long as you close before the end of the year you'll get the $8,000. There is also a chance that prices could fall lower during that time. There is not as great a chance that they will skyrocket during the same time.

Take a little bit of time, pick out a couple of neighborhoods that you might be interested in, and then look them up on this board...lots of good discussion has already been done.

Good luck!!

Everything here is great advice. Your young AND moving to a new area you are not familiar with. Get to know the area first, make some friends, find out where they live or want to live, and go from there. Absolutely Rent at first, the 4 months you spend on rent will be well worth it just getting to know the area.
You have to be prepared to stay in whatever home you decide to buy for at least 5 years so make sure it's in an area you want, and because you just graduated college and this is your first job, get a feel for if you will even be staying in that job for that long, or if the job will be transfering you away from orlando as you move up the ladder.

If you find orlando is the perfect place for you, I definitely would buy before the 8K credit expires. Interest rates are artificially low right now (being kept down by massive government action) and that can't last forever so that's something working for you. Some area's are still looking for a bottom price wise, but many neighborhoods have cycled through their foreclosures and are settling price wise. I don't see prices going up dramatically anytime soon, so you have time....just not all the time in the world.